My brother and I love playing games together, but we tend to lean towards cooperative play over competitive. Unfortunately, the co-op market is one that’s not as full as it could be, unless you’re counting games that can involve co-op, but are ultimately online games with other players. Borderlands is what I consider to be a perfect example of what a co-op game should be – playable solo, but made better with co-op.

After having completed Borderlands 2 for like the fifth time, I decided to seek out some alternative co-op titles that my brother and I could give a go, and decided to take both Shadow Warrior 2 and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands for a spin. So far, I am really impressed with both.

Shadow Warrior 2

The one we’ve played the least is SW2, so I don’t have great screenshots to share. I’ve been a huge fan of the Shadow Warrior series since the original release (which followed Duke Nukem 3D), and the reboot a couple of years ago was simply awesome. I was pleased, then, to see that SW2 included co-op play, and was even more pleased when I found out it made the game even more fun than I was expecting.

SW2 is a first-person shooter starring a hilarious Lo Wang, or what I like to call the “Asian Duke Nukem” (although far funnier). You need to hack and slash your way through hordes of enemies on a regular basis, in absolutely beautiful locales rich with eye candy. The game isn’t an FPS without complexity, though, as you can find many items that will allow you to upgrade your skills and equipment. In some cases, you can even find brand-new abilities out in the wild, which you can miss in some cases if you are not careful.

As I mentioned, we’re not far into this game, but hope to continue it soon. It’s been Ghost Recon: Wildlands that has captured us more, despite having not taken any previous Ghost Recon seriously (many dedicated fans say that Wildlands is not a “true” GR). This is an open-world game that takes place in a crime-ridden Bolivia, a country with draw-dropping locales and cartel members all over the place ready to take you – or your helicopter – down.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Unlike Shadow Warrior 2, I have played Wildlands solo as well, which actually feels quite different from co-op, since you have AI team members to help you accomplish your goal. In this way, solo is almost easier than co-op, but co-op is far more satisfying.

One thing that might make some steer clear of Wildlands is that it will take a fair bit of effort to try to collect everything the game has to offer (unless you want to open your wallet – this is an Ubisoft title, after all). If you’re an open-world sucker like I am, this isn’t going to seem to be that much of a chore, though there is a lot to go out and collect (weapons, accessories, skill credits). Many of these can be collected en route to missions, but every one will take minutes, or even 15, to collect, due to the number of people out to kill you.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands

The game can be enjoyed from a stealthy perspective, or you can assume the role of Leeroy Jenkins and storm into any situation you please. That route just means that you’re likely to die – and die a lot.

I am glad overall to have decided to give both of these games a co-op test, because both are proving to be a ton of fun so far. Both are rather new games, so buying two copies isn’t going to come that cheap, but as is the way of PC gaming, if you want to score them cheaper, you’re definitely going to be able to. You might just have to wait for it.

Rob Williams

Rob founded Techgage in 2005 to be an 'Advocate of the consumer', focusing on fair reviews and keeping people apprised of news in the tech world. Catering to both enthusiasts and businesses alike; from desktop gaming to professional workstations, and all the supporting software.